Only Walk So Far is a fiction 2019 novel written by Caroline Lopez, telling the story of two enemy nations — Gaul and Wendland. (Expies of 18th-century France and Roman-era Germany.) Each country, of course, looks down on the other and every good patriot on either side knows that the best thing to do with a member of the other country is to kill them.This leaves fourteen-year-old Rennesson in a tough place, given that he's half-Wend, half-Gaul. His uncle, a Wendish chief, covers up this fact at home, but when Renn is kidnapped and sold into slavery by the Gauls, everything he used to hide is what he'll have to rely on to survive as he tries to make it back home.
This work contains examples of:
- The Alcoholic - Celine
- Amazon Chaser - Jean-Marien likes Celine precisely because she isn't afraid to go to battle and fight for what she wants. Also a one-sided case of Opposites Attract.
- Angry Guard Dog - Siegher
- The Atoner - Fairinelle is a hyper-developed case. He makes several major life choices to punish himself for his past, and he's going to make darn sure Celine pays for what she's done as well.
- Barbarian Tribe - The Gauls view the Wends as this. While they do live more "primitively" than the Gauls, their barbarianism is also played up in the prevailing attitudes of the Gauls in general. Also inverted given the fact that the Wends view the Gauls as barbaric in in spite of, and in some cases, because of their more advanced technology.
- Be All My Sins Remembered - Fairinelle. The thing that everyone praises him for is the same thing he hates himself most for.
- Big Brother Instinct - Emile to Renn
- Bilingual Bonus - given the fact that the two featured countries are expies of France and ancient Germany, many of them have meaningful names in either of those two languages.
- Old German
- Jungbern means "Young bear".
- Linderic means "Beautiful kingdom".
- Hagen means "Fenced-in place"
- Seigher means "Victory army"
- French
- Le Notre means "the one who is ours"
- Hironde means "sparrow", and Jean-Marien Hironde's shop sign features a painted sparrow.
- Old German
- Bleed 'Em and Weep - Renn goes through this. Emile hints that he did in the past.
- The Butcher - Gauls who prove themselves especially effective at killing Wends earn this title.
- Chekhov's Gun
- Keno's habitual lateness
- Fairinelle's surprising strength relative to his body type
- Celine's bad aim
- Cressido's intolerance for young wannabe-hotshots
- Chekhov's Skill - Linderic's ability to speak Gallic
- Due to the Dead - Invoked and subverted. Renn is disturbed to see a dead man tossed overboard from the St. Juste without a proper ceremony.
- Friendly Sniper - Emile
- Gentle Giant - Ironically, the same dog that qualifies as Angry Guard Dog
- Heterosexual Life-Partners - Renn and Emile.
- Officer and a Gentleman - Fairinelle
- Only Sane Man - Emile fills this role in several situations.
- Prison Ship - The St. Juste
- Proud Warrior Race Guy - Hagen, Jungbern
- Smart People Wear Glasses - The inquisitive Rigobert wears a pair.
- When She Smiles - Happens with Celine
- Would Hit a Girl- A norm in-universe. Women fight against and alongside men on both sides and it is never commented on as being unusual.
- Would Not Hurt A Child - Emile
